Flower Boy Ramen Shop Ep. 4 Recap

When episode four starts, we see Chi-Soo late at night outside the ramen shop, looking in at Eun-Bi who is alone and crying. He decides he can't handle it (remember in episode one when he says he hates crying women) and leaves. In his car, he has a flashback of another woman alone and crying (his mother, maybe?). This stirs something inside him and he decides to go back, but it's too late, she's already being consoled by Gang-Hyuk, the man who is supposedly Eun-Bi's husband. Chi-Soo leaves and meets up with his super adorable friend Hyun-Woo and asks him questions about this mysterious new "husband" fellow trying to figure out who he is. Who is he? Is he really her husband? Why were they embracing in the ramen shop? Hyun-Woo suggests that maybe he was just trying to comfort her. Comforting someone is a totally foreign concept to Chi-Soo. I think this means I should teach him. I think everyone would benefit from that. And by everyone I mean me.

Eun-Bi, still mourning her father's death, is getting ready to return to work as a student teacher and finds out she must first go to the principals office to file a report because of that volleyball she spiked in Chi-Soo's face (LOL).

Before he leaves for school, Chi-Soo interrupts his father's business meeting (where they're talking about a fancy new ramen shop they plan to open) and asks for his father's advice on how to do that "comforting thing." He's advised to send lots of money and nice flowers. If Eun-Bi doesn't accept these things, I know a single, Korean Drama re-cap blogger he could send them to. His name is Me.

Anyway, as she leaves for work, Eun-Bi discovers a smelly sock and a handkerchief outside of her home (actually, I think it's her father's home). Based on scent alone, she recognizes the two garments as belonging to Chi-Soo. But wait, why was he outside her house? Was he spying on her?! Meanwhile, her "husband," Gang-Hyuk, wakes from a long slumber and seems to be excited and happy to be reunited with Eun-Bi.

In a cafe near school, Eun-Bi sits alone contemplating in that Meg Ryan sort of way where you don't know what she's contemplating about but you still feel for her because she looks like a wounded bird. So-Yi, aka Ms. White Swan 2011, comes into the cafe and sits down at Eun-Bi's table. She apologizes for Chi-Soo's behavior, which irks Eun-Bi and the conversation quickly turns into an icy blame game. Eun-Bi tells So-Yi she doesn't approve of what she's done to poor Ba-Ool and that she thinks she and Chi-Soo need to learn the difference between right and wrong. So-Yi tells her that what's going on with Ba-Ool is none of her business and that she should apologize to Chi-Soo to make her life easier if she wants to continue her teaching career. BITCH!

Eun-Bi meets with her supervisors and signs the report explaining the volleyball incident. She's also required to apologize to Chi-Soo for embarrassing him. This is hard for her but she tries to do it, knowing it's important for her to keep this job. But before she can get the words "I'm sorry" out, Chi-Soo hands her an envelope full of condolence money, along with a card that he had his friend Hyun-Woo write out for him. How impersonal, Chi-Soo! This is obviously offensive to prideful Eun-Bi who has a flashback to her father telling her to have some courage and get out of teaching. She gives the money back to Chi-Soo. He thinks she is offended because it isn't enough money, so he pulls out more for her. This REALLY pisses her off and she smacks Chi-Soo with the envelope. Money flies everywhere and Chi-Soo is enraged and dumfounded. He asks why Eun-Bi hit him and tells her he's going to have her fired. Eun-Bi informs him that she can't be fired because she quits (CLASSIC!) and tells him he'll have to die curious as to why she ever hit him. Then she marches out of the school in one of those triumphant f*#k-the-system 'Office Space' type moments.

Next we see Eun-Bi sobbing in a restaurant, stuffing her face with some sort of cuisine that looks like fried chicken legs. She's asking the P.E. teacher (her former volleyball coach) and her roommate, Dong-Joo, what she should do now that she blew this chance. Hmmm, I wonder if maybe she'll take over her father's ramen shop???

Later, we see Yang Eun Bi hanging up posters around town. I can't read Korean so I don't know what they said, so I'm just going to make up that she was advertising dog-walking services since she's now job-less. Or maybe it's babysitting services? Or Korean tap lessons? Is there even such thing as Korean tap? Anyhow, while hanging these curious posters, she gets a phone call asking her to meet with Chi-Soo's father, President Cha.

Eun-Bi sits awkwardly in a funny hooded sweatshirt in the palatial home of Chi-Soo's father as he tells her to drink her tea... and to report back to work at school the next day. This is shocking news to Eun-Bi, who drops her teacup and it shatters on the floor. She offers to pay for the cup... and then she finds out it costs almost $4,000. President Cha tells her not to mind the teacup, and that the only thing in his home that musn't be broken is his son, Cha Chi Soo. He wants Eun-Bi to take her job back at the school so that Chi-Soo will stop being so angry. He even offers to pay Eun-Bi extra money (the money she says she would've earned being a private tutor, which must be what the posters are about) on top of her old salary. And guess what you guys, she still says "no." Then she literally beats herself up over it. What a weirdo.

When Chi-Soo finds out his father was unable to convince Eun-Bi to take her old job back, he throws a temper tantrum. At first this made him less attractive, then it made him more attractive, then it made me feel really bad about myself. Then the scene ended. This show really brings out things in me I'm not ready to deal with. But I'll save that for a later re-cap.

We then see So-Yi giving Ba-Ool a call. Maybe she wants to only be with him after all! Nope. She asks him to give her a ride... to Chi-Soo's house. Of course he says no. Poor Ba-Ool. Literally. He needs to stop hanging out in the junk yard. It seems like a major health risk.

Chi-Soo is still throwing a tantrum. This time he's in his car on the phone with his uncle, demanding that he find Eun-Bi. Suddenly he spots her eating ramen alone outside of a convenience store. A group of unruly students is harassing her because they want to sit down to eat, but she's taking up the only table. They offer to stop bullying her if she buys them cigarettes. She says no, so they keep bullying. That's when our hero, Chi-Soo, sweeps in with a carton of expensive cigarettes and sends them on their way. Eun-Bi is angry that he just gave cigarettes to high-schoolers. So she chases the hoodlums, takes the carton away from them, and throws it into the street where it gets run over. Then the kids REALLY go after her and Eun-Bi's only escape is to get into Chi-Soo's car. She does so... reluctantly.

The two end up in a romantic spot under a bridge near sunset. They argue over why Eun-Bi had to make matters worse by taking the cigarettes away from the high-schoolers. She tells him because it's wrong. Wrong like trying someone out and not considering their feelings. She says a person like that deserves to be hit. I so agree, girl. I so agree. Chi-Soo finally understands what all the hitting has been about. He understands that he hurt Eun-Bi the woman, not Eun-Bi the teacher. He turns on his charm and leans in as if to kiss her. She grabs him and pulls him closer as if she's going to make it happen sooner. She instead leans into his ear and tells him he stinks. They bicker some more, Eun-Bi gets out of the car, and Chi-Soo speeds away.

We see him in his car with So-Yi later that evening. Something is troubling her and she asks Chi-Soo to hold her. But all that's on his mind is what Eun-Bi said about how he smells. He asks So-Yi if his cologne smells bad. She leaves. She finds Ba-Ool and lays into his arms. Awwwww! I hope they get back together!

Chi-Soo finds Eun-Bi's keys in his car, as well as a smelly sock. Uh oh! How is she going to get into her home? Lucky for her, the door was unlocked, and there was... dinner on the table, but no sign of the person who made it. It's obviously Gang-Hyuk who made it. Obvious to everyone, that is, except Eun-Bi. She calls around (while stuffing her face) to all her friends asking if any of them brought the food. Meanwhile, Gang-Hyuk is sleeping behind a couch... and missing one smelly sock. Does he have narcolepsy? I think he does. I'm glad they're finally getting the representation they deserve in Korean media.

Chi-Soo caves in to morality and decides to return the keys and sock he found to Eun-Bi in case she's locked out of her home in the freezing cold. But when he arrives, Gang-Hyuk tells him that his wife is asleep (I'm still so confused. Is Eun-Bi his wife, isn't she his wife?). Chi-Soo seems annoyed. He tells Gang-Hyuk to tell "his wife" that she better take her job back or else she'll never be able to teach in Korea. Gang-Hyuk seems sexy--oops! I mean unfazed... Gang-Hyuk seems unfazed. Then he sniffs Chi-Soo and tells him he has "No scent. Even this onion has a scent, but you smell like nothing. No home, no food, no mother." (I'm paraphrasing). This ENRAGES Chi-Soo and he throws Gang-Hyuks onion to the ground. It's like, really intense.

That's the end of episode four. Hopefully five sheds a little more light on this whole "Eun-Bi is my wife" business. At the very least, we'll get to see more of Hot-Guy-- I mean Gang-Hyuk. We'll get to see more of Gang-Hyuk.